All too often when we talk about a quality education, we talk in terms of resources, facilities, institutions, or maybe about a select few elite individuals who can lecture about esoteric ideas in some specialized venues. In Saif's opinion that could not be further from the truth. It's much simpler than that. The key to a quality education is the self. Far from expensive resources and tools, what we need most is to teach individuals the art of discussion, debate, and thought experiments (i.e. the basis on which any quality education is built). Therefore, the goal is to create a a program that precedes normal schools, that is a program that teaches how to think: by proving or denying ideas through deep thinking and civilized debate, by summing ideas through proposing a thesis or theory, and then and only then, using whatever simple tools to determine the validity of those theories and ideas. With "Local PhDs," the plan is to reach all people, and particularly those in countries and communities that have been financially disadvantaged and show them that the lack of money is not a hindrance to a quality education, the only resource you need is your mind and voice.